trickydicky Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 hi , we are thinking of buying a scooter to use when we are away in our motorhome.....only thing is, we have no idea where to start looking or what to look for ! can anyone offer some advice please. we want it to be as lightweight as possible, and suitable for two people. also, would we need a 50cc or 125cc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 First you need to work out if your MH is suitable to carry one, i.e. if a rack can be fitted or if it can be carried in garage, then work out how much spare capacity you have on rear axle, then you will be in position to know what weight scooter you can carry. If you don't have enough capacity it will mean towing a trailer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 Hi Dicky Some other questions/queries for you: Do you have a full licence? Have you ever ridden a scooter before? Have you ever taken a pillion passenger before? Have you thought about how much and for what you would actually use it? How easy would it be to load/unload (assume you have the capacity as per Colin's post) Have you checked out the price of scooters and insurance etc? Have you thought about the safety gear you would need (helmet, gloves etc) and the cost/where you'd store it all? As an example, we both have full bike licences and had intended to get a scooter to take away with us, we actually bought some scooters, one of which would definitely have fitted in the garage of our motorhome, but with all the other kit we take away, despite us having spare payload, we decided it would be too much hassle and not likely to get used much as our motorhome is only 6m so we can park it most places we want to go, so just use our scooters at home. When away we use cycles, walk, or even public transport on occasion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilmac Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 trickydicky - 2011-03-24 6:43 PM hi , we are thinking of buying a scooter to use when we are away in our motorhome.....only thing is, we have no idea where to start looking or what to look for ! can anyone offer some advice please. we want it to be as lightweight as possible, and suitable for two people. also, would we need a 50cc or 125cc. Well, assuming you have already done your homework re licences and weights etc then you just need to decide on your scooter. If you're going to be riding it 2-up most of the time you may struggle with a 50cc especially if you are in a hilly area :-D . I don't think that 125cc scooters weight very much more than 50cc ones anyway, but you can research that. From our own experience we knew we could carry a scooter up to about 130kgs and actually found one at 115kgs. We bought a cheap Chinese made scooter off Ebay which is fine for us as we don't have to worry too much about it hanging off the back of our motorhome in all weathers *-) So in answer to your question I'd go for a 125cc within your maximum weight allowance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BGD Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 Honestly? Don't bother with a 50cc. Two-up, they are a joke, and really dangerous, as you an';t keep up with any traffic and just end up in the verge. 125cc is the only way to go in practice. You casn ride a 125 on a car licence. We did loads of research before ending up buying a Honda Innova 125i last year. Utterly brilliant. Big wheels, which make a HUGE difference to handling. Only 110kgs, which our MH scooter rack could take. Does about a million miles on a capful of fuel. Looks so un-cool that no scrote would nick it. Utterly bulletproof reliablity - it's the successor to the Honda C70/C90. Capable of 85kms per hour, so OK on main roads and even motorways. Done almost 3,000 kms on it so far, and we love it. Cost was just over €2,000, including big Maxia topbox. I've since added a Puig windscreen which is also brilliant. We were whizzing in and out of Valancia for the Fallas fiesta from the campsite 10kms south of the city several times just last weekend. Highly recommended. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ips Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 We have a piagio zip 50cc scooter which carries mrs ips and I no problem (obviously struggles a bit on hills) if de-restricted then a 50cc will do 40-45mph two up no probs. If you intend to only potter about on country roads then keeping up with flow of traffic is not an issue and lets face it who wants to be on a main road on any bike these days ? much more fun on country lanes. Weight of a 50cc will be about 30kg lighter than a comparable 125. I can easily push ours (95kg) up our ramp into the garage and its secured there with tie down straps. (never moves) I have full licence so no issues however mrs ips can ride our 50 on her car licence without L plates. Tax £12 pa insurance £100 pa MPG 70+ depending on how many hills etc We paid £1200 brand new incl helmets, gloves, lock etc etc We have had loads of fun and have found it most usefull. If its an option re-licence, weight etc then a 125 is prob better but dont rule out a 50 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donna miller Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 BGD - 2011-03-25 12:17 AM 125cc is the only way to go in practice. You casn ride a 125 on a car licence. Not without passing a CBT and obtaining a full bike licence if you want to carry a pillion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ips Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 Good point, thats correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snail Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 Hi trickydicky, just to emmulate the other answers we have a Honda innova also, and being an x biker i must say it's great for nipping into town etc, i personally looked at cheap chinese ones and not for me, you can expect reliability and good service from a honda, it also has the advantage of 4 gears so you can opt to stay in a suitable gear when climbing hills, unlike the twist and go type, for us it was the retirement option so we can now, having more time stay put for at least a week and use it for shopping at 120 mpg instead of 25mpg, it's the lastest version of the c90, they are about £2200 new, usually some on e-bay, also you may consider a suzuki address, which is almost identical and a bit cheaper, both step throughs with big wheels and auto clutch, 4 stroke engine, 4 speed. just a long shot but i will be at shepton show next weekend with it on the back of our hymer you are most welcome to have a look, camping in the general area, hope that helps, e-mail me if you want, regards brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Anne Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 We looked long and hard to find the right two wheeled mode of transport and because the total vertical load on the tow bar is limited to 150kgs we needed a machine that was no heavier than 110kgs - this then gave 40kgs spare for the weight of the rack etc. Looked at loads of scooters but evetually settled for a motor bike - Yamaha YBR125 - IMHO better looking and better handling in cross winds etc. Does the job perfectly! It is quite happy cruising along at 50mph two up. We would not be without it whilst abroad. It provides easy parking almost anywhere you care to go. May be worth consideration? - good luck with your search. Regards, John & Anne. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trickydicky Posted March 25, 2011 Author Share Posted March 25, 2011 thanks everyone for your replies,some very useful info there,a lot to think about, hopefully we will end up with the right scooter for us after careful consideration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barryd999 Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 Personally I wouldnt bother with a 50cc unless its just for short journeys. Not safe on fast roads either. We have a Peugeot Speedfight II 100cc scotter on a rack on the back of our Kontiki. Takes 1 min to get on or off. Its a 2 stroke and goes like the clappers. 60mph no bother. Its taken us up to 7500ft in the Pyrenees and all over the Alps. I simply wouldnt have a motorhome without a scooter. Its so liberating and a whole lot of fun. Our holidays are as much about biking as motorhoming and the scooter gets us down all the little roads and alleys that motorhomes simply cant get to. Great for sussing out wild camping spots as well. Oh and you can park it just about anywhere. The Speedfights are no longer in production and getting one is quite hard. Im thinking of getting a Piaggio Liberty 125 which is just a tad hevier but again impossible to get second hand but about £2100 new. There is a picture of our bike at the bottom of the first page of our website www.hankthetank.co.uk Cheers Barry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skyrider Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 Also worth considering is the yamaha serow which i have. it is a 225cc trail bike very low seat height and light at only 108kgs .will be taking mine to the manx grand prix this year on the back of the motor home :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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